Supporting-rack.



J. BRORBY. SUPPORTING' RACK.

APPLICATION FILED 1u'1v 24.1915.

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

JACOB I. IBRORBY, 0F SHENANDOAH, IOWA.

SUPPORTING-RACK.

Application led. July 24, 1915.A Serial No. 41,794.

To all whom tmag/.concern Be it known thatV I, JACOB- I. BRORBY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Shenandoah, in the co-unty of Page and State of Iowa, have invented certainnew andi useful Improvements in Supporting- Racks, ofy which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to supporting or display racks, and in its more intense aspect to'racks having devices for temporarily holding articles in suspended position.

While the present invention issusceptible to manyl applications, as will appear obvious from the description hereinafter set forth, it will be described, however, withrelation to its application to a laundry assorting bar in which articles of clothing, or the like, are adapted to be suspended therefrom and automatically counted and assorted.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simple and practical rack of the above character which will be cheap to manufacture and installi A further object is to provide a self-contained rack having a plurality of independently operated gripping devices which will be durable in construction and easy to ma; nipulate.

A further object is to provide adevice ofv the first above mentioned character which will be reliable, efficient andpositive in its action under all conditions.

Other objects will be in parti obvious from the annexed'drawings and in part indicated in connection therewith by the following analysis of this invention.

This invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination off parts and in the unique relations of: the members andvin the relative proportioning and disposition thereof; all as more completely outlined herein.

To enable others skilled in the art so fully to comprehend the underlying features thereof that they mayembody the same by the numerous modifications in structure and relation contemplated by this invention, drawings depicting a preferred form have been annexed as a part of this disclosure, and in such drawings, like characters` of reference denote corresponding parts throughout all the views, of which z-fV Figure 1 is a perspective view of the section of supporting rack showing several Specification of Letters Patent.'

Patented Aug. -1, 1916.

gripping members inoperative and released positions; Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the mechanism shownin Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview ofthe modified form of gripping device- Fig. 4 isI a smaller perspective view of the rack in use for assorting and counting towels.

Referring now t'o the drawing in .detaill and more particularly to .Figa 1, 5 denotes a sheet metal supporting bar of any desired length adapted'to be secured to aliixed supportlby means of bolts or screws passing through holes 6 at the sides thereof. This bar 5' is providediwith a longitudinal groove 7 with bent up flanges 8' at each side thereof and between which the grippingy devices are mounted; These gripping' devices as shown in Figs. 1 and, are preferably made of' stamped, sheet metal and comprise two parts 10 and 1l both substantially L-shaped in longitudinal section. Their adjacent upf per ends areV provided with laterally projecting lugs or pins 12 adaptedto engage holes in the inner sides of the flanges 8 substantially midway between the top and bottom4 of the groove7, the member 11 being pivotedy slightly, farther away fro-m the bottom of: the groove thanfthe pivotal support of the member'lO.

The member 11 is providedr with a punched up T-shaped lug 13 passingv through an opening in the member 10 as shownl clearly in Fig. 1, in such a manner as to hold theparts in proper position when moved downwardly, asshown in Fig. 1. As the gripping device is released by al movement toward the leftin Fig. 1, the gripping jaws 14 at their lower ends release, as shown by the released gripperimmediately at the right. This separation is effected by a spring'15 which is connectedat one'end to a punched up lug 16 in the bottom ofthe channel'7 and at its opposite end to the lower part ofithe member 1'Oat` afpoint 17 slightly belowit's pointofpivotal suspension. Thus,- as the member 10 moves about its pivot point, the spring will.` pass from one side to the other of' a dead. center position through the pivot point and cause the gripping jaws to snap together either to grippingy or released position.

The end of the gripper jaw or member 10 may be turnedV over, as indicated at 18 to hold a numbery card 2O for the purpose of identi-frire the article .supported @maxtor example, if the device should be used for a coat rack, the coat could be placed in a gripper corresponding with the check handed to the owner of the coat.

In Fig. 3, there is shown a modification in which the members l0 and 11 instead of being made of sheet metal, are made of two U-shaped wires 21 and 22 provided with laterally turned ends 23 adapted to engage the same holes in the flanges 8 at each side of the groove 7. These may be covered over with sheet metal members 24 and 25 respectively, to form a more eiiicient gripping surfaceand also to hold the parts in proper relative position due to the interlocking engagement at the end 26.

The method of use and operation of a device of this character is substantially as follows: The one side of a room is preferably provided with several vertically disposedracks side by side. The articles to be assorted and counted are suspended from one corner between the gripping jaws lflof the lowest device as in Fig. i and as the gripper is moved to closed position as shown iii detail at the eXtreme left of Fig. 1. The article will thus be firmly clamped therebetween and the spring 15 will hold the grippers with a desired degree of tension, as may be necessary. By putting one article of a kind in each device of a rack, one above the other, they will be automatically counted and assorted. On removal of the articles the gripper device is moved upwardly and the spring passing beyond its dead center position, causes the gripper to snap into released position and permit the removal of the article. It is, of course, to be understood that the sheet metal members are coated, or otherwise treated to prevent rusting because sometimes the articles are not always thoroughly dry.

It is thus seen that the present invention provides a simple, practical and self-contained rack of the above character capable of many uses and applications and designed to accomplish, among others, all of the objects and advantages above set forth.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of this invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting certain features that, from the standpoint of the prior act, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and therefore such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, in combination, a channel-shaped rack bar provided with downwardly projecting flanges having holes on their sides and a gripping device mounted therein comprising a pair of members and a spring associated with one of said members for moving the grippers into operative or into released position.

2. In a device of the character described, in combination, a channel-shaped rack bar provided with flanges having holes on their inner sides, and a gripping device mounted therein comprising a pair of members and a spring associated with one of said meinbers for moving the grippers into operative or released position, said spring being connected with the rack bar and the gripper to move the gripper from one side to the other of a dead center position when moving from released to operative position.

3. In a device of the character described, in combination, a channel-shaped rack bar and a series of' grippers mounted therein, each gripper comprising a pair of members pivotally mounted in said rack bar, means connecting said members for holding the same in relatively close position and a spring connected with one of said members for moving the grippers from released to operative position.

4. In a device of the character described,

in combination, a rack bar, and a series of grippers mounted therein, each gripper comprising a pair of members pivotally mounted in said rack bar, slidable means connecting said members for holding the same in relatively close position, a spring connected with one of said members, one of said grippers being provided with a ilanged lower extemity adapted to hold an identifying car 5. In a device of the character described, in combination, a single piece of metal bent into channel-forml provided with lugs at regular intervals, a series of grippei's mounted in said channel bar and a spring connected with one of said lugs and at its opposite end with one of said grippers at a point distant from its support and adapted to swing past a dead center position as the gripper is moved to and from operative position.

6. In a device of the character described, in combination, a single piece of metal bent into channel-form provided with lugs at regular intervals, a series of grippers pivotally mounted in said channel bar, and springs connected with said lugs and one of said members respectively at a point distant from its pivotal support adapted to swing past a dead center position as the gripper is moved to and from operative position, said grippers being made from stamped sheet metal and one of the members being provided with a punched up lug adapted to engage a slot in the companion member whereby said members are slidably connected with each other.

7. In a device of the character described, separated or inoperative relation when in combination, a channel-shaped member swung toward said channel-shaped member. 1o and a gripping device pivotaily mounted In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature therein and comprising a pair of members in presence of two witnesses.

siidably connected together and adapted to JACOB I. BRORBY. be brought into operative or gripping re1a Witnesses:

tion with each other when swung outwardly J. F. LAKE,

from said channel-shaped member and into H. I. FosKETT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for nve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

